CLM Member Firm Callahan & Fusco announced in December that, in addition to several charitable donations to other non-profit organizations, the firm was also creating a scholarship fund to help those who needed financial support to attend CLM events in 2021.
“We’ve been a part of CLM for a long time, and we want to continue to support the organization,” said Christopher Fusco, managing partner at Callahan & Fusco LLC. “In addition to our own attorneys, many of our clients are interested in going to CLM events, especially its annual conference and Claims College. We’ve always put a lot of effort into supporting CLM, and, in a sense, we’ve grown up together, since our firm has expanded from a regional one based in New Jersey and New York to a national presence across seven states, including Florida and Georgia. We want to continue to watch the CLM grow and be a part of it.”
The majority of CLM’s in-person events were rescheduled as virtual events in 2020, including its annual conference, which had its in-person activities canceled just a week before the event took place.
“We know it’s been a rough year for our clients, our employees, and the communities in which we’re involved,” says Fusco. “With that in mind, we want to make sure that more people will be able to get the education they need at events in 2021, and we want to ensure that the communities in which we live and work feel supported by us, too.”
The CLM scholarship fund is being financed by money originally earmarked for firm marketing events that were canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic. Fusco says the other portion of these funds will go to help support three other non-profits: Feeding America, ToolBank, and a local area YMCA in New Jersey.
For those who aren’t familiar, ToolBank “lends tools to non-profits and charitable organizations who equip volunteers.” It provides charitable organizations year-round access to its inventory of tools and equipment for a nominal fee, enabling them to drive change in their communities for less.
Feeding America is a non-profit that helps address food scarcity in the U.S. It works to get food from farmers, manufacturers, and retailers to people in need while “seeking to help the people we serve to build a path to a brighter, food-secure future.” It’s been in operation for more than 40 years.
To learn more about the scholarship program, go to https://www.theclm.org.